Do all these things, and you will have maximised your chances of getting your research proposal funded.

1.      Give enough time to your writing effort so that you fully understand what information is required and ensure you provide it

2.      Write for your audience, not for yourself

3.      Seek to learn from all the funding agency guidance you can get

4.      Don’t just ensure your proposal meets the assessment criteria, demonstrate it!

5.      Obey the rules (of the funding agency and your own institution)

6.      Develop a complete overall argument whose conclusion about outputs and impacts is warranted by the evidence provided by everything else in your proposal

7.      Attend to the structure, focus and linkage of your overall argument

8.      Develop the logic of your overall argument throughout all parts of your proposal, and make the linkages explicit 

9.      Think like a journalist – conclusion first, then warranting

10.   Check the final draft of your proposal yourself and get others to check it for you

 Good luck!